Paris with the Lewises

Saturday 8 June
Bonjour from a less sunny Paris.  It's been very humid and muggy and, towards evening, the dark clouds approached which was rotten luck for our friends' arrival.  Fortunately, it was more of an electric storm than a downpour so off we went to Bastille Metro at the far end of the marina and met up at 9pm.  They'd travelled by Eurolines coach from the UK and were groggy after a 7 hour journey so we had a quiet night in with a supper of bread, cheese, olives, cornichons (quickly becoming a firm favourite with Skipper!) and wine.  We had a good catch up and before we knew it 1am had arrived and off we scuttled off to our cabins.

The Lewises & Fosters in Place de Vosges, Marais District

Sunday 9 June
We were happy to be guided by Dave & Roche as they know Paris pretty well.  Skipper and First Mate had already visited La Louvre and the Eiffel Tower on a previous trip so we decided to go to the Musee Carnavalet which provides a unique history of Paris in the impressive, former Hotel de Carnavalet.  Filled to the brim with original paintings, furniture, shop fronts and signage all salvaged from demolition (including the original Chat Noir Cabaret sign - one of Picasso's former haunts), it is a fascinating walk through Parisian history.  We then had a stroll around the Marais district, a trendy area filled with boutiques, eateries and amazing falafel - sadly the queues were too long to tempt us on this occasion. 

Musee Carnavalet: an original art deco fixture from a jeweller's shop, saved from demolition.  Check out the mosaic on the floor ...

We later went inside the Notre Dame - staggeringly beautiful is all I can say.  Dave & Roche have an artistic background so know all about architecture and artwork and they were able to point out certain aspects of the building and stained glass work that brought it to life for us. 

One of the stunning stained glass windows at Notre Dame

We rounded off our day by walking back through the lively Ile St Louis - another trendy district filled with musicians, boutiques and artisan shops - heaven!  First Mate bought a rather stylish trilby hat! (see photo further down).  Dinner was served on board after which David fancied a game of scrabble which, naturally, he won (being extremely competitive) followed very closely by Skipper!

Monday 10 June
Today was dry but a little overcast so we set off on the metro to the Montmartre which is impressive - a series of steps up to an attractive but new(ish) church, the Sacre Coeur.  It was a bit blingy for our taste  -lots of brassy statues but, nonetheless, impressive.

Skipper & The Lewises at Montmartre with Sacre Coeur at the top of picture

Later we went to the Pompidou Centre which was the precursor of Lloyds of London and designed by the same architect.  It was quite controversial in its time and caused divided opinion.  There was a nearby pool filled with Gaudi-esque castings - I can't remember the artist's name but they were vivid and fun.

Madam Chapeau with the Pompidou Centre in background

Also, a very old church in this square which was in disrepair - beautiful in its simplicity and doubled as an exhibition space.  At the time of our visit there was a photography exhibition called 'Ny Terra' by - a stunning collection of b&w photos with vivid colour overlays (perhaps) from a village in Gambia, e.g. seed pods, birds, plants, etc.  It was an amazing technique which didn't look to be digital.  Dave & Roche hadn't seen anything like it and couldn't decide how it was done.

Later, Dave couldn't resist another round of Scrabble and thwarted the opposition with a staggering 263 and, being a modest type of chap, asked me to record this in our blog.  There's nothing worse than a gloat!

Tuesday 11 June
So, that marks the end of our weekend with the Lewises.  We had a great time together and they enjoyed being on the boat in such a central location.  To be fair, Roche is happier on boats than Dave (he's a true land-lubber) but he entered into the spirit of things and savoured a glimpse of an alternative lifestyle.

As ever, the time came to say 'au revoir' and we walked them to the Bastille Metro for their return journey.  After we'd say our goodbyes, we returned to the boat to prepare for Phase 2 of our journey - the cruise through the Bourbonnais route of canals - so, until the next post, over & out!